Plural

Question

If something is plural does it include all of that thing - see example below.?
For example. If I tell somebody to pick up all the toys on the floor, does that mean to pick up more than one or does it mean to pick up all of them. Common sense says it includes all of the toys. Are there grammar rules that support that?

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

AnonymousIf something is plural does it include all of that thing - see example below.?For example. If I tell somebody to pick up all the toys on the floor, does that mean to pick up more than one or does it mean to pick up all of them. Common sense says it includes all of the toys. Are there grammar rules that support that?

There are semantic rules that support this: all the toys = all the toys. All the toys does NOT equal "a few," "some," or "more than one but not all."

Even if you had not used "all" then the use of "the" means "all that fit into this category."

The steams in Chester County are overflowing their banks = All the streams in Chester County.

Otherwise, you need qualifiers: Some of the streams, many of the streams, a few of the streams, etc.

Pick up some of the toys. Pick up a few of the toys. This is not the same as Pick up the toys.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

'All' means 'all'.

All the persons or things.

It's not a mattter of grammar. It's a matter of vocabulary.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for your post. After reading my question, I realized I did not ask it correctly. However, you still gave an answer that was responsive to my intended question (thank you!!!).

You wrote that even if you had not used "all" then the use of "the" means "all that fit into this category." I agree with you, but I can not find a rule that supports that conclusion. Are you aware of any grammar rule that supports your answer (other than common sense)?

Thank You

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymouseven if you had not used "all" then the use of "the" means "all that fit into this category." I agree with you, but I can not find a rule that supports that conclusion. Are you aware of any grammar rule that supports your answer (other than common sense)?

It is more useful to think in terms of observations about usage than about rules. There are no rules as such. Here's what Huddleston (Introduction to the Grammar of English, Cambridge University Press) has to say about the with plurals:

As with the singular,

"the [with a plural noun] indicates that the description is presented as defining. ... the reference is to all the persons, objects or whatever that satisfy the description (together with any implicit supplementation from the context).
...
Whether the [noun phrase] is singular or plural, the indicates that the description (together with any contextual supplementation) provides defining information and that the reference is to the set of all persons or whatever satisfying it ...

Putting all before the emphasises, reinforces the meaning of totality, rather than introducing it. If there are three bottles on the table, two empty and one full, it would be just as false to say The bottles on the table are empty as to say All the bottles on the table are empty." [Added emphasis mine (in bold).]

CJ

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